SAVE THE TARSIER” has become the battle cry of environmentalists in Bohol.
The Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), which is endemic to the forests of Bohol and extremely territorial, is being threatened to extinction by poachers, hunters and even wild predatory animals.
As conservationists struggle to protect the shy, cuddly little creatures that have been around for 45 million years, a booming local tourism industry has been unkind to its lot.
For almost a decade now, business establishments thriving along Bohol’s tourism corridor have opened up tarsier viewing spots as an added attraction to the island’s world-renowned tourist destinations—the Chocolate Hills, ecotourism adventure parks, beach resorts and the Loboc River cruise.
Snatched from the wild, the tarsiers are kept in cages for easy tourist viewing.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regulates businesses in possession of tarsiers since the animals were classified as threatened species.
Permits
“[But] DENR permits, such as the Certificate of Wildlife Registration (CWR), are issued to those holding tarsiers in captivity without going through a stringent process of verification,” says lawyer Raul Barbarona of the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (Elac).
A person or entity can operate a tarsier viewing business even without complying with guidelines contained in the CWR, such as proof of financial and technical capability and the presence of a facility to maintain the wildlife.
At least nine business establishments have been allowed by the DENR to possess tarsiers, mostly in the town of Loboc.
Tarsiers are nocturnal animals and should not be disturbed during daytime. The tarsier has one of the slowest fetal growth rates among mammals, taking six months to reach a birth weight of 23 grams.
Based on scientific studies, the primates commit suicide in captivity due to trauma from stress caused by human touching and loud noise.
Tarsier behavior and activities have been filmed by international documentary networks, such as National Geographic Channel and British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC)—proofs that the animal has become one of the country’s signature tourism mascots.
Carlito Pizarras, field supervisor of the Philippine Tarsier Foundation Inc. (PTFI), recalled that in the 1960s, there were so many tarsiers that he could easily spot a handful by simply looking around.
As a young boy, Pizarras used to catch tarsiers for his father, a taxidermist. They stuffed tarsiers and sold them to tourists. Demand for tarsiers grew among collectors and even scientists who used them for experiments.
For his skill in catching tarsiers, Pizarras became popular in his hometown of Corella. But his lifelong relationship with the tiny creatures earned him the moniker “Tarsier Man.”
He estimates the current number of tarsiers at 1,000.
Concerned with the dwindling figure, Carlito started working for tarsier protection. He collaborated with the PTFI, a nonstock, nonprofit organization, which put up an 8-hectare tarsier sanctuary in Corella.
With the help of the DENR, the PTFI center slowly expanded to cover 167 ha in the three municipalities of Corella, Sikatuna and Loboc.
Display ban
In February last year, the provincial board passed an ordinance prohibiting the possession of tarsiers for commercial use. The law mandated that all individuals and entities holding the tarsiers in captivity should turn these over to the PTFI sanctuary.
It was a landmark legislation that received praises from international wildlife charity group Born Free Foundation of the United Kingdom.
Yet, for almost a year now, business operators continue to display the animals in clear violation of the ordinance. They merely obtained wildlife registration permits from the DENR.
Government inaction on the commercial display of the tarsiers has caught public attention repeatedly.
Barbarona is urging the DENR to review its wildlife permits. “Since the issuance of the permits is legally binding on the part of the permittees, there should be a legal process for its revocation based on documented violations,” he says.
The environmental lawyer maintains that the DENR should check whether establishments holding tarsiers captive are observing the guidelines contained in the permits, such as technical capabilities.
Insensitive tourists
He cited one instance when a Cebu-based tour guide allowed his guests to poke and force-feed the tarsiers in one establishment in Loboc. One tourist caught it on video and uploaded in YouTube, generating hundreds of hits in a matter of days.
As a result of the online report, Bohol’s tourism industry suffered a big blow.
Barbarona received other reports that tourists at tarsier viewing sites in Loboc, despite warning signs, insisted on holding the primates and even used camera flashes for close-up souvenir shots with them.
Instead of correcting and monitoring these incidents, the DENR “seems to be paying no attention to this unrestrained abuse,” Barbarona said.
For his part, provincial board member Alfonso Damalerio II, principal author of the tarsier ordinance, called anew for the seizure of all commercially held tarsiers and turn them over to the PTFI.
Damalerio noted that the law had remained inutile as the provincial executive department had yet to issue its implementing rules and regulations.
Loboc municipal officials are against the closure of the tarsier viewing sites, saying these draw more tourists and offered an added attraction of the river cruise.
But the tarsier sanctuary is open to guests and tourists who are allowed to view the animals in their natural habitat with trained forest guides.
